Blocking (computing)
In computing, a process that is blocked is waiting for some event, such as a resource becoming available or the completion of an I/O operation. Once the event occurs for which the process is waiting ("is blocked on"), the process is advanced from blocked state to an imminent one, such as runnable. In a multitasking computer system, individual tasks, or threads of execution, must share the resources of the system. Shared resources include: the CPU, network and network interfaces, memory and disk. When one task is using a resource, it is generally not possible, or desirable, for another task to access it. The techniques of mutual exclusion are used to prevent this concurrent use. When the other task is blocked, it is unable to execute until the first task has finished using the shared resource. Programming languages and scheduling algorithms are designed to minimize the over-all effect of blocking. A process that blocks may prevent local work-tasks from progressing. In this ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological, and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering. The term ''computing'' is also synonymous with counting and calculation, calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by Mechanical computer, mechanical computing machines, and before that, to Computer (occupation), human computers. History The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper (or for chalk and slate) with or without the aid of tables. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Polling (computer Science)
Polling, or interrogation, refers to actively sampling the status of an external device by a client program as a synchronous activity. Polling is most often used in terms of input/output (), and is also referred to as polled or software-driven . A good example of hardware implementation is a watchdog timer. Description Polling is the process where the computer or controlling device waits for an external device to check for its readiness or state, often with low-level hardware. For example, when a printer is connected via a parallel port, the computer waits until the printer has received the next character. These processes can be as minute as only reading one bit. This is sometimes used synonymously with ' busy-wait' polling. In this situation, when an operation is required, the computer does nothing other than check the status of the device until it is ready, at which point the device is accessed. In other words, the computer waits until the device is ready. Polling also ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inter-process Communication
In computer science, interprocess communication (IPC) is the sharing of data between running Process (computing), processes in a computer system. Mechanisms for IPC may be provided by an operating system. Applications which use IPC are often categorized as client–server model, clients and servers, where the client requests data and the server responds to client requests. Many applications are both clients and servers, as commonly seen in distributed computing. IPC is very important to the design process for microkernels and nanokernels, which reduce the number of functionalities provided by the kernel. Those functionalities are then obtained by communicating with servers via IPC, leading to a large increase in communication when compared to a regular monolithic kernel. IPC interfaces generally encompass variable analytic framework structures. These processes ensure compatibility between the multi-vector protocols upon which IPC models rely. An IPC mechanism is either Synchroni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Computing Terminology
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological, and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering. The term ''computing'' is also synonymous with counting and calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by mechanical computing machines, and before that, to human computers. History The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper (or for chalk and slate) with or without the aid of tables. Computing is intimately tied to the representation of numbers, though mathema ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scheduling (computing)
In computing, scheduling is the action of assigning resources to perform tasks. The resources may be processors, network links or expansion cards. The tasks may be threads, processes or data flows. The scheduling activity is carried out by a mechanism called a scheduler. Schedulers are often designed so as to keep all computer resources busy (as in load balancing), allow multiple users to share system resources effectively, or to achieve a target quality-of-service. Scheduling is fundamental to computation itself, and an intrinsic part of the execution model of a computer system; the concept of scheduling makes it possible to have computer multitasking with a single central processing unit (CPU). Goals A scheduler may aim at one or more goals, for example: * maximizing '' throughput'' (the total amount of work completed per time unit); * minimizing '' wait time'' (time from work becoming ready until the first point it begins execution); * minimizing '' latency'' o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Race Condition
A race condition or race hazard is the condition of an electronics, software, or other system where the system's substantive behavior is dependent on the sequence or timing of other uncontrollable events, leading to unexpected or inconsistent results. It becomes a bug when one or more of the possible behaviors is undesirable. The term ''race condition'' was already in use by 1954, for example in David A. Huffman's doctoral thesis "The synthesis of sequential switching circuits". Race conditions can occur especially in logic circuits or multithreaded or distributed software programs. Using mutual exclusion can prevent race conditions in distributed software systems. In electronics A typical example of a race condition may occur when a logic gate combines signals that have traveled along different paths from the same source. The inputs to the gate can change at slightly different times in response to a change in the source signal. The output may, for a brief period, chan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Non-blocking Algorithm
In computer science, an algorithm is called non-blocking if failure or suspension of any thread cannot cause failure or suspension of another thread; for some operations, these algorithms provide a useful alternative to traditional blocking implementations. A non-blocking algorithm is lock-free if there is guaranteed system-wide progress, and wait-free if there is also guaranteed per-thread progress. "Non-blocking" was used as a synonym for "lock-free" in the literature until the introduction of obstruction-freedom in 2003. The word "non-blocking" was traditionally used to describe telecommunications networks that could route a connection through a set of relays "without having to re-arrange existing calls" (see Clos network). Also, if the telephone exchange "is not defective, it can always make the connection" (see nonblocking minimal spanning switch). Motivation The traditional approach to multi-threaded programming is to use locks to synchronize access to shared res ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Data Dependency
A data dependency in computer science is a situation in which a program statement (instruction) refers to the data of a preceding statement. In compiler theory, the technique used to discover data dependencies among statements (or instructions) is called dependence analysis. Description Assuming statement S_1 and S_2, S_2 depends on S_1 if: :\left (S_1) \cap O(S_2)\right\cup \left (S_1) \cap I(S_2)\right\cup \left (S_1) \cap O(S_2)\right\neq \varnothing where: * I(S_i) is the set of memory locations read by * O(S_j) is the set of memory locations written by and * there is a feasible run-time execution path from S_1 to These conditions are called Bernstein's Conditions, named after Arthur J. Bernstein. Three cases exist: * Anti-dependence: I(S_1) \cap O(S_2) \neq \varnothing, S_1 \rightarrow S_2 and S_1 reads something before S_2 overwrites it * Flow (data) dependence: O(S_1) \cap I(S_2) \neq \varnothing, S_1 \rightarrow S_2 and S_1 writes before something read by S_2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Concurrent Computing
Concurrent computing is a form of computing in which several computations are executed '' concurrently''—during overlapping time periods—instead of ''sequentially—''with one completing before the next starts. This is a property of a system—whether a program, computer, or a network—where there is a separate execution point or "thread of control" for each process. A ''concurrent system'' is one where a computation can advance without waiting for all other computations to complete. Concurrent computing is a form of modular programming. In its paradigm an overall computation is factored into subcomputations that may be executed concurrently. Pioneers in the field of concurrent computing include Edsger Dijkstra, Per Brinch Hansen, and C.A.R. Hoare. Introduction The concept of concurrent computing is frequently confused with the related but distinct concept of parallel computing, Pike, Rob (2012-01-11). "Concurrency is not Parallelism". ''Waza conference'', 11 Ja ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deadlock (computer Science)
In concurrent computing, deadlock is any situation in which no member of some group of entities can proceed because each waits for another member, including itself, to take action, such as sending a message or, more commonly, releasing a lock. Deadlocks are a common problem in multiprocessing systems, parallel computing, and distributed systems, because in these contexts systems often use software or hardware locks to arbitrate shared resources and implement process synchronization. In an operating system, a deadlock occurs when a process or thread enters a waiting state because a requested system resource is held by another waiting process, which in turn is waiting for another resource held by another waiting process. If a process remains indefinitely unable to change its state because resources requested by it are being used by another process that itself is waiting, then the system is said to be in a deadlock. In a communications system, deadlocks occur mainly due to loss ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Google I/O
Google I/O, or simply I/O, is an annual developer conference held by Google in Mountain View, California. The name "I/O" is taken from the number googol, with the "I" representing the first digit "1" in a googol and the "O" representing the second digit "0" in the number. The format of the event is similar to Google Developer Day. Key announcements and milestones * 2008: Launch of the Android platform, the Open Handset Alliance, and introduction of various APIs for Google Maps and YouTube. * 2009: Introduction of the Google Wave communication platform. * 2010: Announcement of Android 2.2 Froyo, Google TV, and the App Inventor for Android. * 2011: Unveiling of Android 3.1 Honeycomb, Google Music Beta, and the Android Open Accessory API. * 2012: Introduction of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Nexus 7 tablet, Nexus Q, and Project Glass demonstrations. * 2013: Launch of Google Play Music All Access, Google Hangouts, and enhancements to Google Maps. * 2014: Announcement of A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rob Pike
Robert Pike (born 1956) is a Canadian programmer and author. He is best known for his work on the Go programming language while working at Google and the Plan 9 operating system while working at Bell Labs, where he was a member of the Unix team. Pike wrote the first window system for Unix in 1981. He is the sole inventor named in the US patent for overlapping windows on a computer display. With Brian Kernighan, he is the co-author of '' The Practice of Programming'' and '' The Unix Programming Environment''. With Ken Thompson, he is the co-creator of UTF-8 character encoding. Additional works While at Bell Labs, Pike was also involved in the creation of the Blit graphical terminal for Unix, the Inferno operating system, and the Limbo programming language. Pike also developed lesser systems such as the Newsqueak Newsqueak is a concurrent programming language for writing application software with interactive graphical user interfaces. Newsqueak's syntax and se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |